Stable oxygen isotope evidence for mobility in medieval and post-medieval Trondheim, Norway

Three individuals, three stories, three burials from medieval Trondheim, Norway

“…The isotopic composition of the M3 corresponds to an environmental water value at ~-10.4‰ (±1‰) which is consistent with late childhood/early teens spent in the area surrounding Trondheim [5]. The δ 18 O w corresponding to the M1 tooth, corrected for a possible weaning effect and taking into account a maximum ±1‰ model error, is between about -14.6‰ and -11.4‰ [5], which gives several options for where this person was born. If she was born in Norway, the oxygen value is compatible with a geographic area from the coast of Nordland, 400–500 kilometres north of Trondheim, to an area about 200 kilometres east of Trondheim, towards the Swedish county of Jemtland (Norwegian territory at the time).…”

Lead Isotope Analysis of Tooth Enamel from a Viking Age Mass Grave in Southern Britain and the Constraints it Places on the Origin of the Individuals

“…δ 18 O (phos)VSMOW from archaeological human tooth enamel from across Europe and Scandinavia. The data are from the compilation by Lightfoot and O’Connell (), with additional data from Norway (Hamre and Daux ) and Denmark (Price et al ). The uncertainties are given as 95% confidence intervals on the mean.…”

“…The Pb data, in particular the very low Pb concentrations (with the exception of SK3729), suggest that all the men analysed in the mass grave had a common cultural origin in so far as they were not exposed to elevated/anthropogenic Pb during their childhood. This contrasts with their Lightfoot and O'Connell (2016), with additional data from Norway (Hamre and Daux 2016) and Denmark (Price et al 2012). The uncertainties are given as 95% confidence intervals on the mean.…”

Deviant burials and social identity in a postmedieval Polish cemetery: An analysis of stable oxygen and carbon isotopes from the “vampires” of Drawsko

“…Grødbygård, Sebbersund), Swedish (Birka, Kopparsvik, Uppakra), Norwegian (Bryggen), and German (Haithabu) sites (Price & Frei, ; Price & Naumann, ), all of which possess mean δ 18 O c(VPDB) values between −5 and −4‰ (Figure ). This suggests some uniformity in oxygen isotope bioavailability throughout northern Europe that may complicate interpretations of residential mobility in this region using oxygen isotope values alone, although more depleted values recorded elsewhere in Germany (Magdalenenberg), Sweden (Fäslegården), and Norway (Hamar, Servicebygget, Trondheim, Vår Frue Kirke, Vestfrontplassen) demonstrate at least some regional diversity relative to Drawsko (Hamre & Daux, ; Oelze et al, ; Price & Naumann, ). Nevertheless, multiple centuries separate these sites, and with the exception of a recent study by Hamre and Daux () on human skeletal material from postmedieval Norway, comparative European oxygen isotope data from this era are not available, making it possible that more diverse intra‐period regional values may be present.…”

“…Unfortunately, although a handful of bioarcheological studies examining oxygen isotope values in human dental enamel from elsewhere in the region have been recently published—including from Iron Age (800–450 BC) Germany (Oelze et al, ) and Late Viking (10th to 11th c. AD) sites in Poland, Sweden, and Denmark (Price & Frei, )—these are likely too far removed from the postmedieval period to be of great use. Conversely, the Norwegian sites of Vår Frue Kirke (AD 1500–1850), Vestfrontplassen (AD 1585–1897), and Servicebygget (AD 1585–1897) all overlapped in time with Drawsko, and when third molar enamel values were converted from δ 18 O c(VSMOW) to δ 18 O c(VPDB) (Coplen, Kendall, & Hopple, ), they produced δ 18 O c(VPDB) ranges from −8.6 to −5.8‰ with an overall mean of −7.0 ± 0.6‰ (1 σ ) (Hamre & Daux, ). Nevertheless, the physical distance between these sites and Drawsko (approximately 1,700 km), coupled with the potential introduction of conversion errors (±1.0 to 3.5‰) (Chenery, Pashley, Lamb, Sloane, & Evans, ; Pollard, Pellegrini, & Lee‐Thorp, ), makes such a comparison problematic.…”